Heretofore, various electric water heaters have been proposed for installation adjacent the water tap to thereby provide instant hot water at the tap rather than from a hot water tank at a location remote from the tap. While these water heaters have been satisfactory for their intended purposes, they have been characterized by certain objections in that some heaters were constructed and arranged in such a manner that a flow path was not provided to cause the water to be heated efficiently by the heating elements. In other heaters, provided with baffles to provide the necessary flow path, the heating elements consisted of coiled resistance wires positioned in the flow path which resulted in an obstruction of the flow of water through the heater.
After considerable research and experimentation, the electric instant water heater of the present invention has been devised to overcome the disadvantages experienced heretofore in electric water heaters, and comprises, essentially, a plurality of spaced, parallel, plate-like resistance elements mounted within a core having a plurality of tapered projections extending into the spaces between the resistance elements to form a serpentine flow path wherein the water to be heated is caused to flow across each face of the heating elements. The flow path in the core extends from a circular inlet, adapted to be connected to a standard pipe, which path then expands into an elongated flow area containing the heating elements and tapered projections, and then to a reduced area at a circular outlet connected to a conventional pipe communicating with a water tap. By this construction and arrangement, an unrestricted flow passage is provided whereby the water flow therethrough is heated quickly and efficiently.